Foreign
by Apricus
Summary: KibaXOC Ayako Hattori of the waterfall had to stay focused, seeing as she was the only kunoichi from her village entered in the Chuunin Exams. So she didn't want or need any distractions. Except cute, brown haired ones...


Okay, first off: no laughing- this is my first story so consider me fragile little thing, aight'? :)

Secondly, this is probably going to be a Kiba X OC story so yeah…

Disclaimer: I don't own naruto- TV show or manga…

* * *

**Foreign**

* * *

The anticipation was going to kill her.

Actually it was the lack of interesting things to look at that was going to kill her.

Not only was she stuck with two of the quietest teammates Ayako'd ever been paired with, but it was so bloody hot she couldn't focus. Re-adjusting her backpack straps to fit her body, Ayako Hattori watched the line in front of her slowly shorten. The entrance to the city of Konohagakure loomed ominously above all of their heads. Women, men, and other foreigners waited patiently ahead and behind her for their turn to enter.

As she was trained to, she'd noticed people who were from different cultures, villages, and regions, like herself, stood out the most. Others less exotic looking blended in nicely with the earthy colors of the gate. The only thing in common was their suffering under the intense midday heat. Obviously the land of the Fire was well named.

(Damned sun was everywhere.)

If the rest of Team 2 was feeling the same as she they were certainly going to have one helluva time competing with local ninja. The three of them together had trained under the watchful eyes of **water **jutsu masters after graduation. None of them, excluding their sensei Boton, were equipped for the heat.

And, unfortunately, the customary Takigakure Genin clothing was stifling under the harsh noon rays.

Heavily layered cloaks with dark hoods protected her from the torrents of water at the hidden waterfall village's gate, but it was very—no, _extremely_ unpractical for the security examination at Konoha's gate. It restricted her movements to basic everyday actions as well as clouding her vision. _Your eyesight is one of your best weapons, protect it well_; hadn't her old sensei had drilled the words into her mind, making her recite them daily for a reason?

"Next-." A young, blonde jounin motioned the four of them forward. Grateful, she dragged her feet over the dirt to the man.

"Name." he grunted. She frowned at his lack of manners but handed him her papers anyways. "Ayako."

The ninja flicked his gaze to her hitai-ate tied around her thigh and back to her face.

"Full name." He reiterated more slowly this time, as one would for a bumbling foreigner.

"Ayako Hattori."

He scribbled something down on her temporary passport and stamped it with an official seal. Ayako let out the shallow breath she hadn't known she was holding. Somewhere in the back of her mind she'd expected him to find something wrong and send her away. But that was childish.

"Name." this time the grunt was directed at her giant of a teammate. Ayako noted with a prickle of amusement how the jounin's eyes widened slightly at Kentaro's size. For a boy the age of thirteen Kentaro was solidly built. His frame was roughly the same size as Boton's, dwarfing both Ayako and their third teammate, Toshiro.

"Kentaro Matsumoto. Can't you read?" He leered at the older ninja, scrutinizing the shinobi with his family's signature blue eyes. Ayako shivered slightly despite the uncomfortable warmth as the unnatural tension thickened. At first the guard looked as though he might say something but to Ayako's surprise, held back. Apparently he knew better than to argue with foreigners.

Eventually the same transaction was repeated; the unnamed ninja stamped Kentaro's papers, albeit roughly, and turned to her silent teammate.

"Name."

"Toshiro Sunada." The guard noticeably stilled. He looked back up at Toshiro then back down at his passport. Obviously the shinobi wasn't used to seeing nine year old prodigies.

_Wait. Was that a--?_

She couldn't be sure but it looked as though the silent boy's lips twitched into a small smile at the rude blonde man's shock. But before she could confirm it his face slipped back into his usual mask.

Ayako frowned in disappointment.

Still, it felt better to know the kid had some sort of human emotion. Lord knew he looked and acted like a vampire. It was true too; with his jet black hair chopped short in back and long in front of his face, unearthly pale skin from months spent in libraries, big eerie green eyes, and oddly lean body, he looked like the epitome of death.

…It took a few more seconds until Toshiro had his papers back.

The man looked green.

Ayako dipped her head down low to hide her own small smile.

Toshiro had that effect on people.

* * *

Impossible.

How could the pale boy in front of him be so advanced in his skills? He was hardly anything special, uncommonly pale and spooky, but not _special._ His teammates looked far more skilled than he. Hell, the blue-eyed brute at the kid's side looked like he could snap him in two without breaking a sweat.

But the kid's iridescent green eyes were all the proof necessary to convince Jirou of his identity. Dazed, he stamped the dark haired boy's paper and settled his brown eyes on the oldest of the group. Obviously their sensei, the brown haired man hadn't said a word throughout the entire examination.

For all the guards knew he was a mute.

Jirou eyed him with suspicion; you couldn't be too sure about anything concerning strangers. They had an uncanny knack for hiding important things, like who they were or where they came from. [Hence the need for gate-guards]

But this group didn't appear to want to deceive anyone. From their forehead protectors he guessed they were from Takigakure, the hidden waterfall village, and were probably entered in the Chunin exams. Personally, Jirou hadn't enjoyed his time during the Chuunin exams. Too many unknown ninja to deal with, too many odd clans as well-"Boton Tsurimi."

Jirou blinked.

"My name." The silent man spoke again, nodding his head towards his passport.

Heat rushed into Jirou's face, alerting his senses with its warmth. Hastily he signed his approval and stamped the seal down on the shinobi's papers. He was extraordinarily relieved to be rid of these particular strangers, seeing as Jirou had gotten where he was by his connections, not skills, and these Nin seemed to know.

One by one, he watched as the four of them stepped inside Konoha and disappeared among the crowds . . .

_The Hokage would be interested in them,_ he decided leaning backwards on the legs of his chair.

Each one was a polar opposite, but all of them gave him the same case of heebie jeebies. They'd be formidable enemies in the Forest of Death . . .!

Jirou sat up straight as a thought hit him.

He'd bet his entire measly salary _someone'd_ want to know profile information about the rival competitors in the Exams. Someone with deep pockets and a 'generous' attitude . . . After all, Chuunin was a tough rank to achieve without help.

Why, he himself had a sponser to aid him in passing the challenges.

Since Jirou couldn't figure another way to communicate his good mood he began whistling out of tune and inwardly gave himself a hearty pat on the back for such an ingenious scheme.

His attention on trying to remember a song to whistle, he waved vaguely for the next in line. An odd wheezing sound pulled him from his victory tune. Jirou looked up, instantly wishing he hadn't, and was met by an old woman wearing hundreds of colored shawls with odd trinkets and beads braided throughout her white hair. She cackled toothlessly and eyed him boldly, daring him to continue whistling.

Jirou shut his mouth and scowled, looking away quickly and slouching down lower into his chair, wishing he could quit his inspection job and move somewhere that didn't have any weirdoes.

For once.

* * *

"Hey, don't be late for training." Boton called to them, looking over the top of his book.

Ayako nodded absently, not actually listening, and exited the hotel lobby with Toshiro and Kentaro. All three had been itching to explore since their arrival in the village. Actually, Kentaro had wanted to eat first. But that had to wait.

She turned her thoughts on the sights to distract her from her hunger. Tiny shops and stands bordered both sides of the main road. People were running, walking, talking, smiling, laughing, shopping, eating, browsing, and standing all around them.

Ayako self-consciously tugged a rogue strand of her golden hair out of her face.

"Later." Kentaro shrugged away from them and pushed his way towards the training grounds.

Ayako watched him until he disappeared completely. Suddenly she didn't want to be alone in this village. No one knew her. It would be like a different world for her, like she was an outsider with no permission to intrude.

The feeling wasn't welcome.

A few hysteric seconds passed and she felt Toshiro leave her side. Twisting gracefully on her foot she saw him heading towards a small book store.

"W-wait Toshiro-!" She faltered; oddly shy of the younger boy. He stopped in his tracks and gave her what she thought was a questioning look.

"Can I come with you?"

He blinked and started walking again.

"Keep up." He murmured softly over his shoulder.

She smiled and ran to catch up. They might not be friends now but Ayako was determined to at least try to get to know him better. Or rather get to know what made him tick.

'_Curiosity killed the cat'_ her sensei always swore.

So Ayako guessed it was a pretty darn good thing she wasn't a cat.

* * *

Bells jingled cheerfully as they stepped in.

Inside the store was painted a cheery yellow, with shelves of books up in front of the main windows. Toshiro sure had odd tastes.

She bit on the inside of her cheek and glanced at some of the book titles.

'**300 ways to** **incapacitate a person' **

'**Identified poisons and antidotes' **

'**Ranks of a ninja: Chuunin'**

It took a few extra moments before she realized that they were in a ninja shop. From the outside window all that could be seen were the bookshelves, not the titles and certainly not the rows of weapons for sale on the walls behind the shelves.

She felt like an idiot.

Toshiro had come here for the weapons, not the books. And that meant he knew what the store was just by looking at it… Ayako felt the need to cry arise. However she refused to let Toshiro witness her break down, so she bit down hard on her tongue and pretended to look at some kunai. Behind her she faintly registered the bells jingle again and sensed two more presences in the shop.

Neither person made any sound.

Curiosity ignited she craned her neck sideways for a glimpse of them. Both were around her age, a boy with long dark hair and white eyes, the other a girl with brown eyes and brown hair twisted into buns on either side of her head.

They were staring intently at Toshiro's back, while said child was still inspecting an ornately designed kantana with mild disinterest.

But Ayako could tell from the tense way he stood with his arms crossed that he was fully aware of their eyes on him. From what she could remember he didn't like it when people stared, at their village he'd tried very hard to stay far away from the spot light. Granted, he being something of a genius didn't help much.

Ayako abandoned her spot by the kunai and turned the 180 degrees to face them.

Two pairs of eyes snapped onto her figure the instant she moved. Brown and grey eyes assessed her ninja figure analytically.

Ayako returned the gesture.

The boy's eyes were a bloodline trait localized in the leaf village, if she wasn't mistaken. The girl next to him looked average enough with a kind face and open stance. Both sported a Konohagakure hitai-ate.

Ayako flinched inwardly when she felt Toshiro's arm brush against her side slightly. He stood next to her quietly mirroring the boy and girl. Both sides stood stock-still in complete silence.

The girl was the first to talk.

"Hello, my name's Ten Ten. You two must be here for the Chunin exams, right?" She inquired tentatively, looking appraisingly from Toshiro to Ayako. Ayako smiled stiffly, seeing as there was no way in hell Boton would appreciate her ignoring a Konoha kunoichi, and replied.

"Yeah. I'm Ayako and this is Toshiro." Next to her Toshiro's body tensed even more.

(If possible, of course, she wasn't certain about the limits of rigid-ness the kid could obtain)

Ten Ten pinched the boy next to her. He glanced at her, vexed for a half-second before nodding curtly. "I am Hyuuga Neji." He added politely, if not shortly. It was clear he wasn't interested in talking.

Ayako opened her mouth anyways.

"Hey-"Please excuse us. We need to be somewhere." Toshiro's brusque voice sliced delicately through her words. Without even waiting for a reply he grabbed her wrist, pulling her around them and out of the shop. He didn't stop pulling her until they reached a small wooden bridge far away from the main street. There he let her go and promptly turned his back on her. Ayako narrowed her eyes on his back, and rested a hand on one hip.

"Well… what was that for?" she demanded.

He didn't answer her. Beyond annoyed, she lifted a hand to shade her eyes from the sun and squinted at the training grounds in front of them. The wide open clearing held various targets and was partially dug up from past trainings. It was also empty. She sighed loudly, crossing her arms over her chest and turned to walk back to the hotel.

Wherever that was…

"Wait Ayako."

She stopped and looked back. Toshiro held a kunai in his right hand, an odd expression painted on his boyish face.

"Train with me?"

Shock raced through her spine. He stared intently at her, eyes completely serious and watched sagely as various emotions passed through her open face. Soon the reality of his request broke through her stunned stupor and she swallowed numbly before finding her voice.

"Uh, sure thing Toshiro."

He gave her a small, practiced smile before starting to yank off his heavy outer cloak. Ayako followed suit and shrugged out of her black Capri's, leaving on her navy shorts. The two of them folded their unnecessary clothes on the tiny bridge before walking out into the clearing.

The wind had picked up, and small breezes passed over Ayako providing momentary relief from the sun. She tied her hair up into a sloppy but adequate bun, ignoring the tickling when her light hair fluttered against her skin in the wind. Standing alone at the opposite end of the field, Toshiro waited solemnly for her signal. Eventually cerulean eyes met moss green, and within a blink of an eye Toshiro's body disappeared without a trace. Spreading her chakra through her limbs she doubled back into the deep woods behind her.

Four kunai imbedded themselves with a soft 'thunk' in the spot she'd been in only seconds before.

Jumping through trees, Ayako strategically positioned herself on a wide tree branch enclosed by leaves. The gnarled old tree gave her enough of a shield to protect her from attacks at her back so she focused her senses on the forest in front of her, searching for the kid. A familiar prickle of chakra built inside her left hand as she located his signature pulse off to her right.

But his wasn't the only one she felt.

Another unidentifiable chakra source was also off to her right. Ayako craned her head to the side to watch for Toshiro, and when she was convinced she was safe she furrowed her eyebrows in concentration.

If she could just be facing in that direction she'd have a much better feeling about the unknown chakra, but moving was unacceptable. Toshiro would then have a clear shot at her, and even though Ayako knew he was stronger than her in any case, the stupid feeling of pride kept her from allowing him such an advantage.

After weighing her options she began draining excess chakra from her hands and performed a quick hand sign to prevent outward noises. As the background noise slowly left her, Ayako was certain there were was one other beside Toshiro and herself in the training area. And whoever it was seemed to be very much aware of her, seeing as it was definitely moving in her direction.

Her tongue ran over her dry lips as she frantically searched around the tree for any sort of covered spot. Small alcoves, big rocks, a bush—anything would do.

Her blue orbs landed on a good sized shrub at the edge of a large puddle of former rain water a few yards in front of her. She calculated the drop to be around 30 or so feet, but, Ayako realized slowly, if she could shimmy to the end of the branch she was on, then the drop and distance would lessen.

But that meant leaving the safety guard of the tree.

"Damn bugs. . ." she whined to herself as she slid around piles of leaves, and ducked underneath a particularly nasty clump of vines with fire ants adorning it. _This escape is going to be worth all the icky bugs on this tree. _She silently repeated her positive mantra to keep her mind on the task at hand. But when she came to the end of the branch she hesitated, unsure whether it _was_ worth to jump or to retreat.

Consider it a mistake on her part.

(Now she realizes why she was so horrible at decisive missions; the ability to make decisions just wasn't one of her strong points.)

Ayako threw herself down hard on the frail wood, wincing slightly as her palms caught on the rough bark, and pressed her body flat against it; just narrowly avoiding Toshiro's shuriken whizzing by. Unfortunately for her the aged tree branch was simply too thin to hold her forced weight. Poor Ayako felt the tree give a sickening shudder and heard the telltale groan of splintering wood only seconds before the branch gave out completely from beneath her.

And no, free falling was definitely not her thing.

* * *

Rainbows of colorful words echoed through the woods, followed closely by a loud smack of a body hitting marsh-water.

Mud soon became very acquainted with Ayako's face, clothes, arms, legs . . . you name it she had mud on it or **in it.** As a bonus, muddy water squelched noisily inside her 'waterproof' boots when she finally did manage to extract herself from the mess. Aaand her jerky movements only helped leaves and dirt gather at her neck, which formed slimy rivers of whatever else was in the marsh dripping down her chest.

Using her bruised fingers she began gingerly dislodging pieces of wood and dirt in her hair from the fall.

(When you fall from a high spot, things tend to end up in odd places.)

Ayako was also convinced she had mud where there should be no mud **ever.** But that wasn't even the worst part; No. The worst part was the muffled laughter.

Yes, Ayako glared blindly in the direction of the sound, the damn kid found her situation funny. No; more than that—he found it fucken' hilarious by the sound of it. Her ninja senses twitched in suspicion; the snickers and snorts of laughter were unusually deep for a nine year-old.

But anger swiftly won over caution.

_No one's ever heard his laugh anyways,_ she thought bitterly, rubbing sludge from her face with more vigor than necessary. All her thoughts were fueled by blind wrath for the pale boy.

"This isn't funny Toshiro, so stop being a brat and help me up." She thrust her least mud-covered hand out towards him. The laughter stopped almost immediately.

Nothing moved. She knelt there with her arm outstretched in anger-filled silence but still could not detect any human sounds.

For a moment Ayako thought she was mistaken, that her ears were clogged from her fall and her embarrassing moment had indeed gone unnoticed. But any hope of that was torn up and thrown away when a clean hand appeared in the corner of her eye.

Severely humbled and embarrassed enough for one day, she gripped his hand tightly and heaved herself up out of the swampy mess.

Unfortunately, gravity made the remaining water sluice down her arms and off her face, aptly supplying Ayako with a fresh layer of slime. Although this would not have been nearly so bad if it had been moss green eyes, not pretty brown ones, that ran up and down her soaked figure with unhidden amusement.

Time stood hauntingly still as Ayako dropped her head and stared blankly at the hand that gripped hers.

…

It didn't belong to Toshiro.

…

The tan hand was attached the arm of another, older boy.

A _cute _boy.

His chocolate brown hair was tousled in that adorable, bed-head way; accenting the angles of his face and odd red triangle tattoo-markings on his cheeks. Dropping her blue gaze lower she watched hypnotized as his mouth pulled into a permanent lazy grin that spread tendrils of excitement through her stomach, scaring the butterflies fluttering around in there. And (if she squinted, mind you) with the sunlight streaming down on him he looked every bit like an _angel_ should.

But his next words killed all her misconceived notions of him being anything angelic.

"_Damn_. You look like shit."

The comment was said so off-handedly it was probably an accurate synopsis of her appearance.

(Though, it was really too bad about his choice of words, because even his voice was hot . . .)

Ayako dismissed her train of thought and summoned all her previous anger to cover her embarrassment. She glowered at the beautiful boy, indignantly flicking her dirty bangs out of her face.

"Look, can you just tell me which direction Konoha is?" she fumed.

The condescending grin froze before being replaced by a frown. "_You're_ from Konoha?"

His voice sounded incredulous.

"No. I'm here to-," Ayako wasn't confident she wanted him to know she was a ninja entered in the Chunin Exams considering her current appearance. "…To visit."

"To visit?"

"That's what I said."

His eyes traveled idly back down to her ruined clothes.

"Okay then. The village is that way." He replied, letting go of her hand to point in the direction behind her.

"Thanks." She grumbled incoherently and started a clumsy trajectory back through the tall swamp grass. A pair of footsteps followed her.

She let out a low groan of annoyance and narrowed her eyes at the wild-haired youth.

"What?"

"What?" He echoed, allowing false confusion to cover his humorous expression.

"Why are you following me?"

"Who said I was following you? I could just be heading back to Konoha too."

His lips were curved upwards into a taunting smirk. But she refused to rise to his bait.

"Fine. Whatever." Ayako bit out before starting the walk towards the town.

He sighed loudly. She ignored him.

He sighed louder. She ignored him.

He opened his mouth a third time and she whirled around to face him, seething with annoyance. Redness flushed her skin as she breathed heavily, glaring pointedly at the brunette with the Cheshire cat smile.

"You okay?" he hid his perpetual grin.

She gulped down a large breathe of fresh air, successfully cooling her boiling body and smiled in a sickly-sweet fashion. The cute brunette seemed both unnerved and confused at her actions. Good.

"Can I ask you a question?"

She received a wary look.

"Sure…?"

"You look like a dog person, at least to me you do." She stopped, waiting for his input.

He nodded slowly, unhurried to see where this tidbit of information would lead the conversation.

"So, I was wondering…" Ayako began; a small, patronizing smirk crept onto her face.

"…If I throw a stick, will you leave?"

He didn't reply, only stared at her with his mouth slightly agape, but she could tell she'd hit a nerve. A few moments later they returned to the trail.

They walked in silence like that for a couple of minutes. Her leading the way and him a few steps behind. Though he stepped without sound, the Goosebumps on her arms let her know his bronze eyes never left her back, and all through the long trip she anticipated his next words.

But they never came. Naturally.

Only when Ayako was just beginning to enjoy the natural sounds of the forest fauna did he speak again.

"So, what's your name?"

"What's yours?" she countered.

He was quiet. Victory surged through her, bringing a self-satisfied smile to her expression.

"… Inuzuka Kiba."

She stopped and looked back. _Kiba_ stared back at her expectantly.

Ignoring his unspoken request, she started hiking up the small hill in front of her. When she reached the top of the dirt mound she looked back down at him.

He hadn't moved a foot.

Rolling her eyes at his determined stance, she told him her first name figuring he'd ask her for her last name next. In her mind she was prepared with adequate excuse for the predicted question. But her mind _certainly_ wasn't prepared for the large smile that the name brought forth. He was beaming up at her, spooking the butterflies in her stomach once more.

"What?" she inquired uneasily, brow wrinkling in confusion.

"Hm?"

"Why are you smiling?"

"No reason." His smile broadened, flashing off sharp canine teeth.

"… Really? There's no reason at all?" She stared him down, but to his credit, the large lopsided grin never faltered once.

"I like your name." he shrugged.

Ayako blinked. Was he for real?

"Oh. Okay." They stood there, staring.

She took in all his features this time around; For example his baggy winter jacket with its fur hood slightly askew from the long trek caught her eye. To her it seemed normal to wear such heavy clothing but she knew that for a local civilian in this climate it was quite unusual. Since the coat was undoubtedly unnecessary for the brunette to wear, the only options left that Ayako believed were that he either liked how it looked or it had some special meaning.

But try as she might, she couldn't think up any (sane) reason for the latter.

While her mind continued thinking at mach speeds, Ayako herself took an agonizingly slow minute before returning Kiba's gaze, perturbed and on-guard to find an arrogant smirk dominating his normally pleasant countenance.

"You think I'm hot."

"Don't flatter yourself."

"Well you were obviously checking me out." He pointed out smugly. With all her diplomatic manners mysteriously blanching from her memory, Ayako replied to his comment with a snort of juvenile laughter.

"Hardly. I was just thinking that your clothes were weird."

Silence.

"My clothes are weird?! Have you seen yourself, or is that a popular fashion from wherever you come from?"

A red blush stained Ayako's pale skin, coloring her with fury. Why did he feel the need to remind her of the damn mud every second!? Wasn't it enough that she looked like a fool? Or did she actually have to feel like one to satisfy this guy? From what she had seen so far, he didn't seem particularly malicious or cruel-hearted…

(But hey, what could she know after being with him for less than an hour?)

"You're a jerk."

"Eh? Sure, if it makes you feel better then I'm a jerk."

Ayako ground her teeth together. "Glad we both agree."

"Same." Kiba tilted his head to the side, studying her. "So... where are you from anyways?"

_**Yellow flag. Warning. **_He brought up the same question twice now, probably pumping her for information.

"Not here."

"Then where? I've never seen anyone like you."

_**Orange flag. Warning. **_Three times now…

"Then maybe you should get your eyes checked."

With all the will power she possessed, Ayako quickened her pace, eager to be away from his pretty, prying eyes but nervous about having to avoid any outward indication of unease. Still, the mighty gates of Konoha were much closer now, and it wouldn't be long now until she reached the bridge.

If she could just keep Kiba from distracting her…

"You know, you're not as secretive as you think you are…" His voice trailed off somewhere behind her. Twigs snapped angrily as two pairs of feet marched onwards, one pair far more passive than the other.

The two travelers crossed a small brook and finally arrived in an open field, the Leaf village training grounds.

Ayako breathed in deeply, relaxing her guard to savor the pure air. High in the sky, the sun glowed brightly giving the entire area a bath of clear light. It was days like this that made Ayako wish she was a cat who could uncurl and sleep in the grassy fields whenever she pleased. In fact, she was subconsciously tuning out of the world already.

Only the small shuffling of feet made her conscious of the cocky boy next to her.

He was taller than her, Ayako noted with vague fascination, and was gazing down at her face through heavily lidded eyes. A cloaked question lurked deep in his dark irises. One she knew she wasn't allowed to answer.

Ayako regulated her breathing and peered up at him, trying very hard to appear as an innocent civilian. It was difficult, more so because she _wasn't _a naïve civilian, she was a combat-trained kunoichi. Heck, she wasn't even too sure what a non-ninja person acted like, her village didn't have a big population of them. But still she held up her flimsy façade against his searching gaze.

Whatever he was looking for, he apparently didn't find.

"See you later then, Ayako. Stay away from those swamps while I'm gone"

With a small wave, he turned his back on her and began walking off to the front of the village. She gawked openly at his back for several clouded seconds as he disappeared from her view.

Her teeth bit onto her bottom lip in habit as she stalked sullenly across the picturesque bridge. All her thoughts were wrapped around the cheeky brunette who'd managed to infuriate and attract her at the same time. This didn't make any sense; in her family she prided herself in her ability to clear away unwanted distractions. But here it only took one good looking, sharp-mouthed boy to dissolve all of her previous stability…

_**Red Flag. Final Warning. **_Kiba Inuzuka was much too interesting a distraction, whether he was aware of it or not.

Although Ayako would bet her life that he damn well knew it.

* * *

"You know whatever look you were going for, you missed."

Ayako threw her bowl of ramen at Kentaro's head with deadly accuracy. He ducked (unfortunately), letting the china and noodles splatter against the restaurant wall. On the seat to her right, her sensei Boton sighed in resignation and offered the tiny waitress a small bundle of money for the damages. Toshiro simply ignored the scene entirely and continued eating his house special.

"Stop making a scene, people are staring." Boton pleaded, unsuccessfully holding back his battling students.

"He started it."

"Yeah? Well, you threw a freaking bowl at me!"

"Only _after_ you insulted me for the hundredth time!"

Boton glanced upwards at the ceiling wearily.

Kami sure was making his job as a teacher hard, especially when he already had to deal with fraying bonds between the two ninja villages. Bad trade and old tension had dissolved away any friendly feelings between the leaders. After a few failed attempts at installing ambassadors the feelings between villages continued spiraling south, eventually landing in the current hokage's bad books. But both countries' daimyo wished to avoid war, so the individual feelings of the Hokage were ignored. Still, Boton couldn't be sure that he and his team were trusted here in Konoha.

Which was why making a dramatic scene in a public place was not a good idea.

"Both of you need to stop drawing unnecessary attention to yourselves. Or have you forgotten where you are?" He nodded his head discreetly in the direction of several shocked pedestrians at the surrounding tables.

At least both of them had the manners to act shamed. Ayako grudgingly let go of Kentaro's neck and Kentaro released Ayako's mud-encrusted shirt.

"That's better. Now both of you two apologize."

The two of them scowled and avoided his eyes.

"_Now." _Boton pressed, adding a hint of anger to show his authority over them. Two mumbled apologies later, he surveyed the restaurant for the petite waitress. Once he located her he signaled it was time for the check.

…Boton waited until his three students had walked out the doors before dealing with the situation.

He stared at the red-haired man two tables down from theirs, and frowned openly when the man refused to return his stare. But he could still feel eyes on him, so he tried a different approach to get his message across. Sliding his hand down to his concealed kunai and resting it on the handle, Boton silently warned the three under-cover leaf ninja in the room he didn't appreciate being watched.

After a few tense seconds the man with flame-colored hair abruptly stood and left inconspicuously through the back door with the small waitress and side chef in tow.

Suitably grim-faced, Boton stepped outside to join the others. Ignoring their frivolous bickering, he lifted his sea-grey eyes to the top of the great mountain carved with the hokage's faces in distaste.

Apparently the two villages still didn't have great relations.

* * *

XxXxX – have you noticed I spell Chuunin like Chunin? That's because I've seen it spelt both ways and I'm really not sure which one is correct. Soooo if you know please tell me!

------ :]

P.S. it takes ten seconds to write a review, I know. I've timed it. :P


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